The PRSP process in Malawi

Abstract

The Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy (MPRS) is a major departure from previous plans and strategies. Firstly, the MPRS differs in its underlying philosophy. The overall goal of the MPRS is to achieve "sustainable poverty reduction through socio-economic and political empowerment of the poor". The purpose of this paper is to make a review and assessment, of the PRSP process and experience of Malawi with a view to bringing out relevant information, issues and lessons that can be shared with other countries. The paper is structured into five main thematic areas which are addressed in section 2 to 6 with a conclusion in section 7. Section 2 presents the context of the PRSP, section 3 addresses the PRSP process. Section 4 examines the public finance implications of PRSP. Section 5 examines the donor support to PRSP and how donors are realigning their policies and resources in support of PRSP. Section 6 addresses the capacity implications of PRSP. Section 7 draws conclusion and lessons to be drawn from the experience of Malawi.